A thunderous boom echoed from the distance.
Though it was just a Lesser Demon, one with very little actual combat experience, a demon was still a demon.
Kim Ki-Rok let out a sigh. "So my current arsenal isn't enough to finish this, huh?"
He had his longsword, dagger, axe, bow, spear, martial arts, and technique even beyond the traditional.
"That weird chunk of metal wasn't enough either?!" Masent shrieked, blood gushing from his wound.
Tossing away the cylindrical object in question, Kim Ki-Rok smirked. "Ah, are you referring to God's magic wand?"
"Yes! That! That cylindrical hunk of metal!"
Having adapted somewhat to the fight, Masent had grown wary of Kim Ki-Rok's style. In response, Kim Ki-Rok pulled out a series of firearms from his subspace pocket: a pistol, a rifle, and even an RPG, widely known in certain circles as God's magic wand[1].
Although firearms had very low mana conductivity, the bullets they fired carried kinetic energy of up to 2000 joules, far too fast to track with the naked eye. The RPG, equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead, had been especially devastating. Masent had made the mistake of dismissing the RPG as weak due to its low mana signature and was torn to shreds for it.
"Well, Lesser Demon Masent..."
"Les... lesser?! You motherfucker!"
Masent was a typical bully, punching down. Lacking both skill and talent, he had spent centuries preying on the weak, never managing to advance to an Intermediate Demon.
Masent, now desperate, unleashed an attack spell he had previously stored using Memorize magic. "Memorize: Fire Cannon!"
Kim Ki-Rok retrieved his longsword, then reached into his subspace pocket and pulled out a blue glove.
Description: A glove created by Grace, the Priestess of the World Tree. It contains the power of the primordial World Tree.
Limitation: High Elves and those who have received permission from the Priestess of the World Tree
Effect 1: Halves 50% of mana from the Demon Realm within a ten-meter radius
Effect 2: Increases all stats by 30%
Effect 3: Level decreases by 1 every 10 seconds when worn
"Yes. That very item. I borrowed it with Miss Ayl's help," Kim Ki-Rok explained.
With the blue glove now on his hand, he reached up toward the massive mana bomb descending overhead.
"That's not poss—" Masent was interrupted by Kim Ki-Rok.
"My weapon mastery and elemental magic are expert-level, but when it comes to mana control, I'm nearly a master."
The fire spell collided with the mana-infused glove, yet the massive fireball didn't explode. Instead, the mana imbued in the glove flowed into the spell and completely extinguished it.
Kim Ki-Rok channeled more mana into the glove, then quickly tore open a spell scroll he had taken from his pocket.
At that moment, the visibly trembling demon cast his own spell. "Teleport!"
A flash of light burst from Masent's body, but he was still floating in the air. "Te-teleport! Teleport!"
He tried again and again in desperation, but nothing happened.
Kim Ki-Rok rushed toward him, a blur trailing behind as he vanished from the ground and reappeared directly in front of Masent.
"I really didn't want to use this... but I can always level up again," Kim Ki-Rok said, seizing Masent's face with his gloved hand. Though it carried the power to halve the strength of demons and Black Wizards while enhancing the wearer's stats, its penalty was just as severe.
"I just need to finish him in thirty seconds."
Kim Ki-Rok hadn't meant to use the glove. His level had already plummeted after casting the Limit Break Spell, and now, the sound of bones breaking echoed around him.
"How much easier this would have been if you'd just died earlier..." Kim Ki-Rok muttered.
"Y-you..." Masent tried to speak.
"You... you're the one who... started talking..."
He had a few comebacks in mind, but there was no point in arguing with a dead man. With his left hand, Kim Ki-Rok snapped the demon's cervical spine. Then, as he focused mana into his right hand, which was gripping Masent's face, he forced pure energy into the demon's head, rupturing his brain.
The battlefield fell silent momentarily. Even with enemies right in front of them, the monsters looked up at him. The Black Wizards, who had been casting spells in support, also stared upward in a daze.
"Ah, they're not looking at me," Kim Ki-Rok said.
More precisely, they were staring at Masent's corpse, the lifeless body sagging from the hand still gripping its head.
"Ta-da." Like the finale of a gruesome magic act, Kim Ki-Rok tossed the corpse into his subspace pocket as all eyes turned to him. "That's ten seconds already."
He could wear the glove for another six, maybe seven seconds. Whether he removed it at twelve seconds or eighteen, he would lose two levels all the same.
When Kim Ki-Rok poured half of his remaining mana into the glove, a massive ball of energy formed and plummeted toward the ground, emitting a sinister hum as it descended.
The Black Wizards frantically triggered the Teleportation Magic they had stored using Memorize, but just like with Masent, it failed.
All of this was due to the scroll Kim Ki-Rok had torn just before the Lesser Demon Masent activated his Teleportation Magic.
[Teleportation Restriction Scroll] (Ability)
Description: Disrupts surrounding mana to block the activation of Teleportation Magic within range
Range: 300 meters in front of the caster
The scroll was designed to seal not only teleportation but all movement-related magic and skills.
The energy projectile detonated in a flash of blinding light. Even the allied forces stationed on the wall were caught in the explosion, but it didn't matter.
The energy had been formed from the mana of the World Tree. Infused with its primordial power, it inflicted fatal damage only to those who bore the mana of the Demon Realm. Elves, paladins, and Hunters were completely unharmed.
The explosion of light also affected the two Demons who had infiltrated the fortress in an effort to destroy the World Tree.
The demons might have ignored it if it had been just another ordinary mana collision. But the blinding flash and explosive force didn't come from their battle; it came from the World Tree's mana crashing into the ground.
The two demons were momentarily stunned. The mana released wasn't something the small tree in front of them should have been capable of producing.
Meanwhile, the High Elves had absorbed the pure natural mana and surged in strength once more. Taking advantage of the opening, the black sword of High Elf Warrior Mair pierced one demon's heart, just as the longsword held by that same demon stopped inches from Mair's own.
The second demon that wielded the double-edged axe suffered the same fate. He had charged forward, his weapon cloaked in aura, cutting through both magic and elemental spells. However, he had also been caught in the blast and left stunned, too slow to defend against the coordinated attacks of the High Elf Mage and the Elementalist.
When the mana smoke finally cleared, his arms had been obliterated, and a vast, gaping hole had been blown through his stomach.
The demon turned to face the High Elf Elementalist and the mage. "I have... a question."
Serena remained silent for a moment, then gave a slight nod. "I'll do my best to answer."
"The explosion just now... was caused by World Tree mana, wasn't it?"
"Is there a World Tree we don't know about?"
Realizing the danger of revealing anything further, Serena fell silent.
The demon wielding the double-edged axe used the last of his mana to erect a silencing barrier around them.
"There will be no leakage of sound," he said. "And I can no longer use mana."
"There's no other tree," Serena replied.
"Then what was that mana explosion just now?"
Even the demons knew about this magical item that held the power of the World Tree. But the thought didn't sit right with him.
"But surely... Aylphirane is dead."
"Physical death is not complete death," High Elf Warrior Mair said calmly.
The demon turned to glare at him. "A spirit..."
"That's right. Though only her spirit remains, Aylphirane still lives."
"On this continent, there aren't—" He coughed violently, blood spilling from his mouth as the awareness of his destroyed arms returned. "There aren't any Spiritualists here capable of contacting High Elf spirits. Did you use an artifact?"
"They're the ones involved in the monster disappearance case," Serena answered.
The demon exhaled heavily. "So... among the heroes, there's a Spiritualist who can see and speak with High Elf spirits."
He asked no more questions.
Serena watched him closely. Once she confirmed he had taken his final breath, she raised her hand and summoned a Greater Fire Elemental.
"Please burn him completely with the flames of purification."
The Greater Fire Elemental gave a silent nod, then stepped forward.
The demons' bodies were engulfed in pure white flame. Serena stood watching as they crumbled away—leaving not even ashes behind—while adjusting her radio.
"I've eliminated the two demons that infiltrated to destroy the World Tree."
Kim Ki-Rok had used Guardian. Even with the Priestess's permission, using that artifact came with a heavy cost. But knowing him, Serena figured he had done it without hesitation to finish the demons off for good.
—Oh, looks like Guar-Boom gave you the opening you needed.
—I created a huge explosion using the mana from Guardian. Guardian Boom is shortened to Guar-Boom for short.
Kim Ki-Rok's voice, previously bright with excitement, became gloomy.
—Judging by the weird looks I'm getting, I guess it didn't land this time.
A small laugh slipped out of Serena before she could stop it. Of course, she wasn't laughing at his unnatural nickname. Definitely not.
—Anyway, Sir Richard and Sir Mair, remain behind and guard the World Tree in case of further incidents. Serena, Achiaer, and Saintess Renee, head to the outer wall immediately.
"Huh? That explosion used the World Tree's mana... it was massive. There's no way any monsters or Black Wizards survived. Have enemy reinforcements arrived?"
—No. But the remaining monsters have been contaminated by Demon Realm mana.
The creatures tainted by Demon Realm mana would obey the Black Wizards and attack any lifeform not bearing that same energy.
—The mana has been eradicated. But that doesn't mean the monsters are gone.
The Black Wizards had lost their power. The demons hadn't even left corpses behind.
"But the monsters only lost their Demon Realm mana—"
—Exactly. They're still out there.
"Understood. We're moving now."
Been an hour since the battle ended...
"Oh! You're late. I'm Kim Ki-Rok, the Pink Hero, participant in the World Tree Revival Operation per request of the Priestess Aylphirane."
"I apologize for the delay. I am Pilarin The Graygon, regent of the Aians Empire, representing the Continental Alliance."
"Hmm. So is it Sir Pilarin, or Sir Graygon?"
"Pilarin is the given name, and Graygon is the family name."
"Understood. Then, nice to meet you, Sir Pilarin."
"And you as well. I'll be sure to make up for the delay."
"Oh? The elves will be happy to hear that."
Pilarin glanced around, smiling broadly as he caught the attention of the surrounding Hunters. "Naturally, I plan to reward the heroes as well."
Watching from the sidelines, Yoo Seh-Eun elbowed Kang Seh-Hyuk, who sat next to her. A smirk tugged at her lips as she pointed out, "Hey... don't they kind of look alike?"
"I thought our Guildmaster had cloned himself."
1. This phrase is often jokingly used in media that depict Islamic extremist groups, who are often shown using it as a form of what they consider divine punishment. This terminology reflects the original source material and does not represent the views or beliefs of the translation team or NovelHub. ☜